Adjustable gauge fob sewing



April 22; 1941.- J. J. CAHILL. 2,239,189

ADJUSTABLE GAUGE FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 15, 1959 BY u, I ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1941 ADJUSTABLE GAUGE roa SEWING MACHINES John J. Cahill, New York, N. Y., assignor to Mutual Machine Company, New York, N. Y., a co-partnership composed of John F. Brady and John J. Cahiil Application July 15, 1939, Serial No. 284,629

2 Claims.

The present invention provides a gauge for sewing machines which is selectively adjustable for varying the height or width of a seam as desired, and which when adjusted is capable of being securely locked in the selected position. It is particularly adapted for use in combination with overseaming sewing machines of the type shown and described in the patent to Plumley No. 897,486, dated September 1, 1908.

Heretofore, as seen in the aforesaid patent to Plumley, overseaming sewing machines have customarily comprised a pair of horizontally disposed toothed disks, which normally are adapted to engage between them the vertically disposed material to be seamed and to feed it laterally and tangentiallyto the peripheries of the disks during the sewing operation. A horizontally disposed threaded needle usually reciprocates across the upper surface of the disks, and, with the aid of a looper mechanism, performs the sewing operation. The looper usually operates to seize a loop of thread passed through the work by the needle and to carry said loop over the edge of the work for entry by the needle on its next work piercing thrust. 7

It will be apparent, therefore, that the height of the seam will depend on the height to which the material being sewn extends above the surface of the disks. Heretofore it has been proposed to provide a fixed gauge which was secured to the machine housing and which was provided with a lip or rest disposed above and across the common edge portions of the disks and on the material entering side thereof for gauging and limiting the height of the seam. Such gauges customarily were securely fixed by the manufacturer to the machine housing and could not be adjusted by the user for varying the height of the seam desired for various classes of merchandise. One common type of gauge is that illustrated in the aforesaid patent to Plumlcy, and comprises a round elongated rod, suitably bent, and inserted in a drilled hole in the housing and held in place by a set screw. This form of gauge is not adjustable and is difiicult to maintain in its correct position during use. Like other forms of gauges with which applicant is familiar, it is subject to certain additional disadvantages which are all overcome by the present invention.

The present invention preferably provides a two-piece gauge which is adjustable in both a vertical and a horizontal direction. It comprises a substantially right-angled member which preferably snugly seats in and is slidable along a vertically disposed groove in the front face of the machine housing and has a bent finger portion which is secured to the lower arm of the rightangled member and is adjustable therealong in a horizontal direction. It carries at its outer extremity a lip or rest for engagement by the material being sewn for gauging the height of the seam. Suitable means are provided for securing the right-angled member to the housing and to the bent finger in selected positions, and for permitting of adjustment thereof as desired.

The present invention is shown in the drawing as applied to an overseaming sewing machine of the type illustrated in the aforesaid patent to Plumley, and reference may be made to this patent for a complete description of the operating mechanism of the machine.

I In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an overseaming sewing machine provided with a gauge constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View, partly in section, of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is aperspective View of the gauge, showing a section of the adjacent machine housing in phantom;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation taken along the line tt of Fig. 2, and viewed in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a View taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it will be noted that the machine comprises a housing ill, having a vertical front panel I I, and a removable cover plate i2. Mounted in suitable bearings l3 and I4 provided in the side Walls of the housing is the main drive shaft l5 which is provided at one end with the usual pulley It. A bearing H is provided in the front of the machine for a stud shaft E8 on which a disk 20 is mounted and adapted to be intermittently rotated through suitable mechanism. A second disk 2| is disposed outwardly of the first mentioned disk and normally engages therewith, being adapted to rotate on a stud shaft 22 mounted in a goose-neck arm 23 which is supported in the housing. A usual bent looper 25 is carried in a chuck 26 which, in turn, is mounted on a looper arm 21 and is movable therewith. A needle holder 36 carries a needle 3i which is adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally by suitable mechanism. The needle holder also has the usual thread clamp 33 which is adapted to be released by a cam arm 34. A plate 35 is provided on the disk 2! and has a groove 36 therein in which the needle 3! reciprocates.

The cover plate I2 is provided with three thread guides 49, 46 and a thread tensioning device 4|.

The disks 2!! and 2| serve to grip the work between them for the sewing operation and to feed the work laterally in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2. For ease in inserting the work the outer disk 2| and its supporting arm 23 are adapted to be moved longitudinally outwardly away from disk 20 by suitable mechanism and for this purpose it is provided with parallel rods 43 which slide in bearings 44 provided in the front housing wall of the machine and in correspondingly located bearings in the rear housing wall (not shown). In operation the thread is brought from a spool usually located at the rear of the machine through a guide 40 over the thread tensioning device 4|, through guides 46 and then downwardly through the thread clamp 33 on the needle holder and is threaded through the eye of the needle 3|. The work is inserted between the disks 20 and 2|, and the action of the reciprocating needle and the looper mechanism 25 oversews the work in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4.

All of the foregoing mechanism is known in the art as will be apparent from the aforesaid patent to Plumley.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the height or width of the seam depends upon the extent to which the edge of the work extends above the surface of the disks. In the absence of any means for limiting the height of the material above the disks, the height of the seam and its uniformity will depend in large part upon the skill of the operator.

The present invention provides a gauge (best seen in Fig. 3) for application to the front panel H of the housing which serves to limit the height to which the work may extend above the surface of the disks. The gauge comprises a substantially right-angled member 50 having a vertically disposed arm and a horizontally disposed arm 52. The front panel of the housing is provided with a groove 54 which is of a sufficient width and shape to snugly accommodate the arm 5| laterally and at the same time to permit it to be moved upwardly or downwardly in the groove to vary the Vertical position of the gauge. Suitable means are provided for attaching the arm to the housing and as shown here comprise a cap screw 55 screwed into a tapped hole in the housing, the head of the screw engaging the sides of a longitudinal slot 56 formed in the upper end of the arm 5|. It will be apparent that with this construction only one screw need be used as the outer edges of the slot 54 formed in the housing prevent lateral displacement of the arm 5|. A bent finger portion 69 is secured to the horizontal arm 52 by a pair of cap screws 6| which engage opposite sides of another longitudinal slot 62 formed in the lower arm 52. The finger is provided at its outer end with an overturned lip or rest 63 which serves (as best seen in Fig. 4) to limit the height or width of the seam.

It will also be noted from Fig. 3 that the outer edge of the finger has been cut away to permit the lip 63 to be brought closer to the upper surfaces of the disks. It will also be noted from Fig. 5 that the inner face of the finger at 64 is cut away to permit the upper edge of the finger to overhang the edge of the disk 2|] on the material entering side. The underface of the lip or rest 63 is preferably arcuate or convex to prevent threads or ragged edges of the work from en gaging in the side edges of the lip during the sewing or feeding operation.

It will thus be seen that the present invention 7 provides a gauge which is adjustable in a vertical direction for selectively varying the height to which the work may extend above the disks for varying the width of the scam, the seam width being limited, of course, to the distance between the upper faces of the disks and the lower face of the lip 63. It will also be observed that an unskilled operator may thus obtain uniformity of seam width with the aid of the gauge merely by maintaining the upper edge of the work in constant contact with the underface of the lip.

It will also be observed that the gauge is adjustable longitudinally in a horizontal direction by sliding the finger portion 60 and cap screws 6| along the slot 56 as desired.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawing it will be noted that the gauge of the present invention is so constructed and mounted that it does not obstruct the upper surfaces of the disks 20, 2|. The gauge bar as a whole is disposed to the left of the disks and other operating mechanism, and only the lip 63 of the bent finger 60 overlies the disk portions at the material entering side adjacent the point of tangency of the disks. With this construction all of the benefits of an adjustable gauge are obtained without presenting an obstruction which would interfere with the easy threading of the needle. It will also be observed from Figs. 2 and 4 that the gauge of the present invention does not bear on the edges P of the disks, clearances being provided between the upper surface of the disks and the gauge, as seen in Fig. 4, and between the edge of the inner disk 20 and the inner concave face of the bent finger portion 60, as seen in Fi 2. The gauge is supported solely byits mounting in the hous- While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an overseaming sewing machine having a housing, inner and outer feeding disks for engaging between them material to be sewn, and stitching and looping mechanism, the combination therewith of a substantially rigid gauge bar having an attaching portion, a vertically disposed groove in said housing of a size and shape to snugly accommodate the attaching portion laterally and to permit movement of the latter along the groove vertically to adjustable positions, means for securing said bar in adjusted positions, said gauge bar having an outwardly extending horizontal arm disposed outwardly of the peripheries of said disks, a bent finger portion secured to said horizontal arm and curved inwardly toward said disks, and a rest on the free end of said finger extending over and across the peripheries of said disks adjacent their point of tangency and adapted to be engaged by the material to be sewn and adjustably to limit 1e height to which the material extends above the disk surfaces with vertical adjustments of the gauge along the groove.

2. In an overseaming sewing machine having a housing, inner and outer feeding disks for engaging between them material to be sewn, and stitching and looping mechanism, the combination therewith of a substantially rigid angled gauge bar secured to said housing and vertically adjustable therealong, an outwardly extendin bent finger portion secured to said gauge bar and adjustable outwardly therealong, the inner concave surface of said finger being undercut to permit the finger to overhang a portion of the edge of the inner disk on the material entering side thereof, and a rest on said finger extending over and across the peripheries of said disks adjacent their point of tangency and adapted to be engaged by the material to be sewn and adjustably to limit the height to which the material extends above the disk surfaces with vertical adjustments of the gauge along the housing, said gauge bar being free from overlying relation to said disks.

JOHN J. CAHILL. 

